Portugal: Mariza (Fado)

Location: Lisboa, Portugal (90´s- present)

Genre: Fado

“Mariza acquired for herself the status of a great global singer - rubbing shoulders with the likes of Amália, Piaf, Elis, Ella, Garland, women singers who became household names. This is why we have to learn to share her with the world. Of course we love when she sings the Fado, our national song. But we cannot clip her wings. She will fly back home. Back to us. But for now let us go on journey with her.

Lets be honest, shall we? Mariza is a Fado singer. But she keeps experimenting with new ways of singing it, and her fans just love it! All of her previous albums - Fado em Mim (2001), Fado Curvo (2003), Transparente (2005) and Concerto Em Lisboa (2006), plus the DVD Live In London (2004) - were Platinum winners. With Amália gone, we felt like orphans, so we looked for a new voice to express our national soul... We looked for Mariza. 

Chuva from Fado em  Mim (2001)

Mariza wins her first music award in 2001, in Quebec - the First Award - Most Outstanding Performance. In 2003, she receives the Gold Medal from the Portuguese Tourist Office; she is elected Artist of the Year by the Portuguese Marketing Executives Association; she wins the German Press "Deutscheschalplatten Kritik" Award for best Ethnic, Folk and World Music album with Fado Curvo (she had won this same award in 2001, for Fado em Mim), and she is elected Best European Artist by BBC Radio 3 (she would win this award again in 2005 and 2006).

In 2004, Mariza wins the "European Border Breakers Award" (an award sponsored by the European Union) for bestselling album Fado em Mim; she is voted Person of the Year by the Foreign Press Association of Portugal, and she is nominated ambassador for Fado's candidature to UNESCO'S Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity programme. 

Mariza wins Portugal's Golden Globe for Best Individual Performer, and she is nominated for the Australian Helpmann Awards in the category of "Best International Contemporary Concert", for her performances at the Sydney Opera House.

Ó gente da minha terra from Fado Em Mim ()

Ó gente da minha terra is the title song for   Pang Ho-cheung's film "Isabella", winner of the Silver Bear for best soundtrack at the 56th Berlin Film Festival
In 2007, Mariza is nominated for the Finnish "Emma Gaala" Awards for "Best International Artist", together with Robbie Williams, Andrea Bocelli, Basshunter, Iron Maiden and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Loucura from Fado em Mim (2001)

She is invited by famous German photographer Bettina Flitner to participate in the "100 most important women in Europe" project, sponsored by the German Government and presented in the European Parliament.

Mariza is nominated ambassador for the Portuguese Tourism Institut, in appreciation for her worldwide efforts on behalf of the Portuguese culture. She becomes the first Portuguese artist to be nominated for the Grammy Awards: the "Concerto em Lisboa" is nominated by the Latin Academy of Recording & Sciences for best folk album.

Maria Lisboa from Fado em Mim(2001)

In 2008 the Paris Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters awarded Mariza the prestigious Medaille de Vermeil, for "her relevant services to the arts and culture". All these demonstrations of recognition and appreciation honour Mariza's career, and they honour us."

http://www.mariza.com/

Discography:

2001 – Fado em Mim

2003 – Fado Curvo

2005 – Transparente

2006 – Concerto em Lisboa

2008 – Terra

2010 – Fado Tradicional

You can find more information on Mariza's official website and follow her on Myspace, Facebook and YouTube.